Tough Love
by siriusllydepressed
Summary: James Potter has been trying to get Lily Evans for years... she's been trying to avoid the fact she likes him for just as long. I know this summary sucks, just read it! And review please! PG13 for language and sexual stuff, but nothing too detailed.
1. One: Inside the Heads' Compartment

Lily Evans father opened the trunk of the rusty gray Ford compact that was their family car. As he pulled out her black trunk, Lily stroked her cat, Amber, smiling. Her dad stood up straight and Lily looked into his gleaming green eyes. She handed Amber to her brooding sister, Petunia, who was leaning on a brick column dressed in a pink, frilly skirt and white t- shirt. Lily, focusing back on her father, hugged him very tightly. She now turned to her mother, who was standing next to Petunia with proud eyes, the same gleaming green tint of her husband. Lily hugged her mom as well.  
"Well, Lily, better get that badge ready!" Her father said, referring to the golden Head Girl badge she had safely stowed in her trunk.  
"I will, Daddy." She turned to Petunia, and took Amber, then, feeling a bit awkward, she leaned forward and gave Petunia a very mutual hug. Petunia looked utterly disgusted, but Lily wasn't about to let sulky Petunia ruin her day. Today, of course, she was going back to Hogwarts, for her final year. This was the end of the beginning, as she saw it, and it was best that she ended it happily. Also, there was the thought that in just a few short hours, she would be wearing that golden badge, enjoying the new privileges of being Head Girl. She only hoped there was a good Head Boy this year, someone responsible, someone the exact opposite of James Potter. That would definitely be the standard she'd set for the Head Boy- as long as they were honest, caring, and had their priorities straight, unlike that irresponsible, troublemaking prat James Potter.  
Finishing her good-byes to her family and promising to write, she stepped into Kings Cross Station, clutching Amber and dragging her cloak toward Platform 9 and ¾. Confidently and well poised (because that was exactly how the Head Girl was) she stepped through the barrier and entered the Hogwarts Express platform.  
  
"Hurry, up!" called James Potter, pushing his cart with his trunk, broomstick, and owl cage furiously through the Kings Cross station, weaving in and out of busy muggles in their fancy suits. His best friend, Sirius Black, was somewhere behind him, and James did not want to miss his last train ride to Hogwarts, especially since this train ride he got his own compartment, reserved especially for the Head Boy and Girl. He was certain the Head Girl was Lily Evans, the girl he'd fancied for so long he couldn't even remember how old he was when he started.  
Sirius was his best friend from his first ride to Hogwarts, when he was eleven and naïve. Sirius came into James's empty compartment, out of breath, and, without even asking for his name, he began spilling to James all about his family, the Blacks, a pronounced Wizarding family full of rich, pureblood wizards. Sirius's parents had kicked him out last year, and for the past two summers, Sirius had stayed at the Potters', who welcomed him as part of the family.  
James arrived at the barrier first, he tumbled through, and stepped to the side, as he was certain Sirius was steps behind him. James was the athletic one out of his Hogwarts friends, in fact, he was most likely the most athletic of the year, being amazing at Quidditch. Still, Sirius had his share of popularity, too: James and Sirius were by far the most popular boy in the entirety of Hogwarts. Both boys were amazingly good looking, and girls flocked around them, giggling, whispering about James's body, Sirius's features, and James's smile... the boys practically worshipped them, too, as they were the troublemakers of the school, constantly running through the halls, wreaking havoc and pulling pranks. James could only think of a few people who didn't like him: Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and a group of jealous Slytherins.  
After a moment, Sirius stumbled through the barrier and joined James on the platform. The pair looked around, looking for their other pal, Remus Lupin. They also kept their eyes out for Peter Pettigrew, their fourth best friend, but weren't as concerned. Peter was a loyal pal; he was a bit of a wimp and often aggravated James and Sirius, not to mention he was a bit dim, but James, Sirius, and Lupin had befriended him early on, and usually enjoyed his company, even if they did make fun of him when they had it.  
  
Lily stepped onto the train and made her way as far down toward the driver as she could get, and arrived at the reserved compartments: Two were labeled "Prefects," cabins she sat in during her fifth and sixth year. The next compartment had a tiny gold sign on it embossed with the words, "Head Boy and Head Girl." She eagerly opened the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new Head Boy...  
The cabin was empty. However, any disappointment Lily had from still not knowing who her Head Boy was quickly drained as she stared in awe at the compartment. It could hardly be called a mere compartment. It looked the size of about four compartments, with long fluffy couches and a flickering fireplace. She left her trunk on one of the couches and went to go find her group of friends, which included Alice Martin, Isabelle Peters and her twin sister, Annabelle, Caroline Crawford, and Cindy McCormick. All were Gryffindors, however Cindy was a sixth year.  
Lily focused so much on her studies that she didn't have very much time for friends. Still, they accepted her, and let Lily hang out with them. But Lily had never really had a "best friend." She wasn't good at making friends. She'd never had a boyfriend, and she thought it was partly because she was ugly. But she'd told her friends this time and they denied it, insisting she was beautiful, and she had to be since James Potter, the hottest boy any of the girls had ever laid eyes on, had had his eye on her for as long as anyone could remember. Annabelle also pointed out that if a boy ever asked her out, James would probably kill him.  
Lily found her friends in one of the last compartments.  
"Lily!" they all cried when they saw her. "How's your summer been?"  
"Oh, wonderful," she said, grinning. "Listen, girls, the Head Girl compartment is really nice and it's so big... do you all want to come down there?"  
They all nodded in agreement, and, somewhat excited, followed Lily down the corridor into the compartment.  
"Wow!" squeaked Caroline. "This is the size of my parlor!" She and Annabelle took a seat on one of the couches. In awe, Cindy joined them, while Lily, Alice, and Isabelle sat down on the couch opposite them.  
"So," Caroline said, looking anxiously at Alice. "Have you seen Frank at all this summer?" All the girls giggled. Lily, however, mentally rolled her eyes. It seemed this was all they ever talked about... boys. It made Lily sick, especially considering their favorite one to talk about was Potter. She wanted to talk about something like books, or Charms or something... she brought this up once with the girls and it was as if she was suggesting they sing a funeral march.  
Alice turned a very vibrant red. "Well... yes... he came 'round to visit me..." She smiled embarrassedly but cheerfully all the same at the Ooohs of the girls. As she went on to tell her "passionate and romantic story" of how she and Frank spent their summer, Lily zoned off and found herself thinking about all the things she loved about Hogwarts, and how she'd miss it all... the teachers, the castle, Quidditch, the Library, James Potter- JAMES POTTER?  
To her relief, Lily looked up to realize it wasn't her imagination- it was the girls going on about Potter again. Today it was all about how they dreamed to see Potter with his shirt off... Lily tried to keep herself from puking out of disgust, and wondered how long the conversation was going to last.  
Not long, because moments later the door slid open to reveal who else but Potter standing behind it. Sirius stood to his right, Remus to his right. Lily noticed a shrimpy little Peter bringing up the rear. Oh god... thought Lily. Her friends however, looked as if they were about to burst with excitement, each one of them grinning (rather lamely, thought Lily) up at Sirius and Potter. Potter and Sirius grinned back, and as James's eyes settled on Lily he said, "Hey Evans," in a deep voice that sounded far to mature for Potter.  
Lily rolled her eyes. "I suppose Remus is Head Boy then? Well done!" she added, relieved that somebody like Malfoy wasn't Head Boy.  
Remus shook his head. "Nope. I'm still just a prefect...Prongs here is Head Boy."  
Lily seemed to think she was in some kind of practical joke. "What? You're- you're kidding! HIM? Head Boy? How? How could somebody be so stupid as to- no, I don't believe you. Nice try." She even began to laugh a bit.  
"Well, thanks, Evans," said Potter. "But no matter what your opinion is, I'm Head Boy, and that's that. We'll be roomies too!" The girls all giggled harder than ever and looked at Lily as if she was the luckiest girl in existence. Lily, however, felt she needed a bucket.  
Potter? Head Boy? He was the biggest git Lily had ever met... sure, he was quite good looking... and smart...and he was so good at Quidditch... but that didn't change the fact that he was an immature prat. The girls had asked her what Potter would have to do to win her affections. She snorted and, only when they pressed her did she tell them that he would need to just be nicer and stop thinking so highly of himself. And really, that was the only thing he would have to do. And prove he'd never lay an eye on another girl again. She'd seen him... lurking around the corridors with different girls. Lily was sure it was to make her jealous, but it wasn't a very good tactic- Lily knew if, for some extremely strange reason, she did want Potter, she would simply say so and he would dump whatever girl he was seeing.  
The boys stayed in the compartment the entire time (much to Lily's disappointment.) Sirius flirted with the girls, and they giggled uncontrollably. Peter looked at Sirius as if he were some kind of god, and this made Lily scoff. Remus tried to engage in conversation with James, but stopped when he realized all James was interested in was staring at Lily. Lily had decided to skip on the sickening conversations of the compartment and instead pulled out a book her mother had raved about, Pride and Prejudice. She did, however, notice Potter eyeing her from across the compartment, and, as most girls would, found it extremely hard to concentrate on her book while a devastatingly handsome boy was concentrating on her. She kept on reminding herself that he was a lousy git, but that still couldn't break the gaze he was giving her. Finally, she decided to just be a bitch.  
"Could you please take your eyes, off me, Potter?" she spat loudly, giving the compartment an awkward silence as everyone stared at her. Potter had gone a deep scarlet. She tried to read, but it was even more impossible with everyone staring at her instead of just Potter. She finally shut her book and scoffed out of the compartment.  
  
James sat there, somewhat bewildered. He hadn't said or done anything offensive since he stepped through the barrier to Platform 9 and ¾. Sure, maybe staring at her could be a bit annoying... but most girls would be flattered that he, James Potter, could not take his eyes off of them. Apparently not Lily Evans. She was different. But that was why he liked her. He figured he'd better find her, apologize, and try to make up for his impression.  
He strolled the corridors, opening each one looking for Lily. Each one he opened was full of students, and every time he opened one the students all chirruped, "Hi James!" He'd mumble back, then move on looking for the object of his affections. Finally, he found Evans tucked away in the very last compartment. She was engrossed in her book, and didn't look up when he came in.  
"What do you want?" she snapped, determinedly not looking at him.  
"Well," said Potter, digging his toe into the floor. "I wanted to say I was sorry?" He looked hopefully at Lily, wishing she'd so some sign of forgiveness. But she simply became more hostile and her pale skin turned pink with anger as she stared at her book.  
"Why do you hate me?" James said suddenly, and she turned even pinker. She sat there for a moment, bubbling with anger, then snapped her book shut and looked up at James with those startling green eyes.  
"Why?" she whispered icily. She was whispering, but she said it with a tone that made it seem she was roaring. "Because, Potter," she spat. "You have the fattest head... walk around the halls, hexing people, hoping to impress me... snogging with random girls just to make me jealous... You seem to be under the impression that you are the best, and it's tactless. Sure, you're good looking, but your head is so big it covers all that up! You're an immature, cocky, irresponsible, ignorant prat!" She vented for a moment with deep breaths.  
James was quite hurt by this, but he wouldn't let it show. He shrugged and sat down opposite her.  
"What are you doing, Potter? I don't remember giving you permission to sit here..."  
"Funny, Evans, I don't remember asking for it." Lily rolled her eyes and picked up her book.  
"Whad'ya reading?"  
"Pride and Prejudice."  
"Is it good?"  
"Yes."  
"What's it about?"  
"Are you leaving yet, Potter?"  
"Nope. What's it about?"  
"Romance in a social class."  
"Would I like it?"  
"Potter," she snapped, throwing down the book. "Why do you like me and not any of the girls who incomprehensibly worship you?"  
"Because you're different," he said, reaching over and picking up the book and reading the back. Lily was somewhat flattered for a moment, and then she realized this was James Potter who'd never said anything sensitive in his life.  
"Don't touch my stuff!" she snapped, grabbing the book.  
"Sorry," said James, putting his hands up. "Look Lily, considering we'll be sharing a room together, as Head Boy and Head Girl, maybe it's best that we... you know, make peace." Lily snorted and kept on reading. "We don't have to be friends or anything," he added quickly. "Because I know you don't want to. But maybe, well, you know, we could... just promise to make peace and stop hating each other."  
"Tell you what, Potter," Lily said, not looking up from her book. "I'll make peace if you deflate your head."  
"How should I do that?" he said, relieved that she was considering making peace.  
"I don't know, like stop hexing people every chance you get, and not thinking so highly of yourself. You do have weaknesses, you know."  
"I know I have weaknesses. You're one of them."  
Lily rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. James shrugged and went back to his Head Boy compartment, only to find Sirius telling some wild tale of how he played hero to some burning building. The girls (and Peter) gasped with admiration, while Remus stuck his head in one of his textbooks and snorted at Sirius.  
James was glad to pull into the Hogsmeade station and pile into a horseless carriage with Remus, Peter, and Sirius. The ride was quick, and in no time James found himself sitting in the Great Hall watching a group of petrified first years gather in. Each one sat on the tiny stool at the front, put the old Sorting Hat on, and sat at the table of the house the Hat belted out. James followed the cheers and claps of his house as a student was sorted into Gryffindor. Finally, it was time to eat.  
James piled a tiny chicken wing, meager scoop of peas, and a tiny scoop of mashed potatoes onto his plate. He ate slowly, savoring every bite of his small dinner.  
"Prongs," Sirius said as he scooped a particularly large portion of steak and kidney pie onto his plate. "Eat!"  
James shook his head. "No, no. I'm Quidditch captain, I can't eat like you can and hope to maintain my body." It was partly true- he couldn't be a good seeker if he was fat, but he never ate anything so he could keep his muscled body. He was known for his well built six-pack and bulking biceps, and he enjoyed that reputation. It made him feel good. With this in thought, he finished only half of his already meager supper.  
James finished his feast considerably earlier than the rest of the school; Sirius was still on his second of five rounds of food. James shook his head. Sirius liked to eat, and he had a hard time keeping it off, seeing as though he wasn't on the Quidditch team.  
Finally the plates cleared and everyone turned to Dumbledore, who had a few start of term notices. It was the usual... no going into the Forbidden Forest, walking through the corridors past nine was forbidden... James was anxious to get to his Head Boy dorm, which was rumored to be spectacular. The Marauders exited the hall with the rest of the students. As they headed upstairs towards the Gryffindor common room, James said good-bye and hurried down the hall toward a large painting of a hippopotamus in a golden bathtub.  
"Hello," James told the hippo.  
"Hello," the hippo responded. "My name is Humphrey. May I see your badge?" James pointed to the Head Boy badge pinned to his robes. Humphrey nodded. "Very good then. The password is 'Grindylow.'" The portrait swung open to reveal a large doorway. As James stepped into the hallway, the portrait swung shut. The hallway was made entirely of stone, and small fire torches clung to the wall. In front of James was a large, wooden door with a brass handle. James pushed open the door, and it revealed a large common room filled with couches and chairs. The room was made of gold, and a high vaulted ceiling painted with cherubs and angels lied above James, and candles filled the entire room. To his right, James saw a doorway revealing a bedroom, and to his left he saw another. To his delight, Lily came out of the door to his right, holding a red cat.  
"You're room is over there," was all she said before turning on her heel and disappearing into her room. James sighed and walked into the door to his left.  
He was amazed. The wooden floor had a large, red rug on it, embroidered with real gold. The bed was made out of gold, with dark red bedding. Large candlesticks were scattered over the room, and a gold armoire sat in the corner. James found his things in his room and decided to get ready for bed.  
  
Lily sat in her room, stroking Amber. She was dressed in a simple tank top with long, plaid sleep pants. Her hair was tied back into a low ponytail.  
Reluctantly, she walked through the common room to James's closed door. She knocked twice and, after a moment, he opened the door. She felt as if she might faint.  
Potter was standing there, only in a pair of red boxers. He was rather good-looking with his shirt off (he was rather good-looking with his shirt on as well, she reminded herself).  
"Erm, we need to talk... like, lay out some rules and stuff..." she stammered. Why was she getting nervous? This was Potter, her sworn enemy. She planned to have this talk outside, but something that felt like rebellion made her step inside his room past him and sit cross-legged on his bed.  
"Okay," said James, trying to conceal his excitement about Lily Evans sitting on his bed. He came and sat cross-legged opposite her.  
"Um, well... there's only one bathroom, and er..." She was deeply distracted, mainly because Potter was sitting inches from her half-naked. "Do you always sleep in just your underwear?" she burst out, and felt her cheeks tinge pink from excitement.  
James looked rather taken aback. "Er- yes," he replied. "Does that bother you?"  
"No," she said quickly. "So, um, I guess I'll take a shower in the morning second, you can go first. And, er, well um I think it's best if we keep the dormitory to ourselves, no friends or anything... I like the privacy. And you can mess up your room as much as you want, but try to keep the common room tidy... oh and last but not least, no coming into my room without permission. Understood?"  
Their gazes met for a moment. Lily longed to move closer...then she reminded herself that she was Head Girl and that this was James Potter. Her gaze dropped quickly, but James's lingered for a moment. Lily stood up, remembering her place and remembering his, and she quickly retorted out of the room.  
Back in the safety of her own room, she buried herself in the red covers of her room.  
  
A/N: It's slow, I know. But you know that they'll end up together, so sit tight. I've been writing a lot on my other story: It's a novel length fic on Harry's sixth year- It's a lot of HG/RW, and there's an on and off relationship between Harry and Cho... but nothing serious. Somebody dies, too, and Harry begins to learn Dark Arts so he can take on Voldemort. Read it while you're waiting for chapters.  
  
I'm thinking of writing another fic, the diary of Luna Lovegood... it wouldn't have too much of a plot, just some background and the reason to the way she acts so weird...I'd also like to maybe do a Draco/Hermoine fic, if I can find the time- that's the thing, it takes me a while to write a chapter, and every bit of free time I get is dedicated to fan fiction.  
  
PLEASE REVIEW! It only takes a minute, and it's really appreciated. Tell me you hate it, that it's crap, just something! If I'm not getting any feedback, I'll know no one's reading, and I'll stop writing. It just takes a minute to open the little pop-up, say "It's crap," and press send! 


	2. Two: A Trip to the Kitchens

> Lily awoke after a peaceful sleep and stretched. It was her first day of classes, and the thought excited her. She wasn't like her giggly friends- she enjoyed class, and, while most of the girls looked forward to boys, she looked forward to books. She slowly got out of bed and walked into the common room, heading for the bathroom, hoping Potter was out...  
To her surprise, when she walked into the common room, Potter was sitting on the couch, fully dressed and busily scribbling something down on a pad of paper. "Morning, Evans," he said, grinning. "You've got about ten minutes until Potions."  
"What?" she said, staring at him in disbelief. "Well, why didn't you wake me up?"  
"That's a violation of what- rule number five? I'm not allowed to go in your room." She gave him an exasperated look.  
"Okay, I changed my mind, you're now allowed to walk freely into my room." She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door. Idiot, she thought, even though she didn't really mean it. She hopped in the shower quickly and rinsed off. She wrapped a towel around herself, and flew out of the bathroom, praying that Potter wasn't looking at her. To her relief, he didn't even look up.  
She changed quickly and pulled on her robes. She looked at her watch and her heart sank. She was five minutes late for class already. She grabbed her schoolbag and headed out to the common room. Potter was still sitting there.  
"We're five minutes late!" she exclaimed, pushing back a stray hair. She had used a drying spell on her hair, and it had left it quite frizzy.  
"I know," said James calmly, putting his papers back in his bag.  
"Well, why haven't you left yet? And what are you writing? Probably holiday homework, knowing you..." she said, rolling her eyes.  
"No, actually, they're Quidditch plans."  
"Oh," said Lily feeling quite stupid.  
"And we're Head Boy and Head Girl, Evans. I knew you would be late, so I stayed behind so you could have a good excuse for why you're late."  
"Oh," said Lily again, and again feeling quite stupid.  
Lily followed him out of their dormitory. The halls were empty, and Lily assumed everybody was in class. She began to get worried. "James," she stuttered. "I don't want to get detention for being late..."  
"Honestly, Evans, have you ever heard of a Head Girl getting detention?" She, once again, felt quite stupid. He turned around. "Are you hungry?"  
Lily, thinking he had brought a muffin back for her from breakfast, nodded. "Okay," said James. He led her towards the opposite direction of the dungeons.  
"Wait," said Lily. "Where are we going? I thought you may have just brought me something from breakfast."  
"Nope," said James. "I don't eat breakfast. We're going to the kitchens." This made Lily nervous. They were definitely going to be very late for Potions. They walked down a large staircase and headed down a hallway Lily had never known before. James, however, seemed to know exactly where they were going. He led her to a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. James reached out, and tickled the pear.  
What the hell is he doing? thought Lily. The portrait swung open, and Lily's eyes grew wide. She realized immediately where they were: The Hogwarts Kitchens. Hundreds of house elves were cooking on giant stoves and slicing vegetables in the dark, dreary kitchens. Four tables were lined up the center, and Lily noted that they were in the same position as the tables upstairs in the great hall.  
A tiny elf wearing a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest ran up to James. "Hello, James Potter," it tweaked harmoniously. "What can Leafy get for you?" James turned around and looked at Lily.  
"What do you want?" he asked her. Lily couldn't possibly take food from these little elves that probably didn't even get paid. However, the house elf's eager look up at Lily reminded her that she was especially hungry.  
"Er, I'll have a muffin, and a glass of orange juice."  
"Certainly!" the elf squeaked, and he bolted off to get her muffins.  
"James," Lily muttered, moving especially close to him. "I mean, Potter... we're now twenty minutes late... class will be over soon..." She looked up into his deep eyes and realized they were just inches from each other. A bit frightened, she took a step back.  
"Okay, okay... as soon as Leafy comes back with your muffin, we'll go. Don't worry, we can just say we were telling a student off or something... trust me, I'll make up a believable excuse," James said, looking quite relaxed. Lily, on the other hand, had never been late for a lesson, and was feeling a bit panicked- could she really trust James Potter?  
To her relief, the elf called Leafy soon came back with a blueberry muffin and orange juice. Lily and James left the kitchens and sat on one of the steps at the bottom of the stairs. Lily began to eat, but felt very uncomfortable eating in front of James, who hadn't eaten anything all morning.  
"Potter, would you like some of my muffin?" she asked, with a kindness that surprised her. James shook his head and just continued watching Lily eat. "Potter why don't you eat?" she asked him, this time with a gentleness that surprised her.  
"I don't know... I guess I just don't like food." Lily cast him a sarcastic glance. "Okay, well, I just need to stay in shape for Quidditch." "Oh James," she said quietly. She finished her muffin and juice and looked at James. "Well, are we going now?" James stood up and offered her a hand to help her up. Lily hesitantly obliged. She tried to refrain from any physical contact with him.  
James led her down the long, unfamiliar hallway, until they turned a corner and Lily realized they were down by the dungeons.  
"Okay," whispered James. "We're just going to run in, and pretend to be out of breath. Then I'll do the rest... just go along with it, okay?" Lily nodded. They were precisely thirty three minutes late now, but she joined James in jogging down the rest of the hall and into the Potions room. As they entered the entire class turned to look at them. Some, like Sirius, Peter, and Remus, grinned. Others, like Severus Snape, scowled at them. Professor Harrington, the red-haired Potions Master, looked up from his cauldron at the front of the class, which was now omitting blue bubbles.  
"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans?" he said sternly. Lily thought she was going to be sick. What would her parents say when they found out she'd been given detention? James however, was perfectly calm, panting slightly, but looking up mercifully at Harrington.  
"Oh, Professor," said James, in a voice that made Lily wince. He would never come off as believable, his voice sounded just like he was lying. "Professor, I'm sorry, but we thought we had a meeting with Dumbledore this morning, so we headed over to his office... then it turned out we didn't... oh, and then there was a first year Hufflepuff who was lost, so we needed to take her to one of her classes, except she didn't know which one because she lost her schedule... We're really sorry, professor."  
While the entire class could most likely see right through James and tell he was lying, Harrington nodded in forgiveness. "It's all right, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans. I was Head Boy in my day, and oh, what hard work..." he started rambling on about how he had to rescue half the school from a troll. Lily and James took the last two open seats- a table in the very back row.  
"Thanks," Lily whispered after they were seated as Harrington continued to ramble. She was quite grateful to have made it into the class without getting a detention. She looked up at James, into his dark hazel eyes. He grinned at her, and then she realized it was James Potter and dropped her gaze... but what if James had changed? He hadn't asked her out once since they arrived, he'd just tried to make peace... he hadn't pulled any pranks during his first night here, which was a first... and Lily couldn't deny the fact that he was gorgeous...
> 
> * * *
> 
> James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all huddled between the narrow aisle of the library that contained books beginning with the letter P.  
"So," said Sirius, turning to James after the Marauders had clarified the date of the full moon to be in two weeks. "What's it like, Prongs, to share a room with Lily?"  
James shrugged. "I don't know. Most of the time she shuts herself in her room." Sirius had a twinkle in his eye, and James knew some kind of crude comment was coming.  
"So, you haven't seen her naked or anything?"  
"Sirius!" exclaimed Peter, Remus, and James. But they couldn't help but laugh.  
The Marauders each did a bit of their Care of Magical Creatures homework (well, Remus did, the rest of the boys copied his) then headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. Just as they took the stairs down to the Entrance Hall, Peeves the poltergeist lunged at them from one of the walls. He chased them down the hall and into a little room, screaming, and bolted the door shut.  
"Damn Peeves," Sirius cursed. They turned around and noticed a greasy haired boy sitting in the corner reading a very old, tattered book. The boy looked up and gave them all cold stares from over his book. The Marauders gave him the same cold, hard stare back, recognizing him as their greatest enemy, Severus Snape.  
"Hello, Snivellus," James sneered. "Expelliarmus." Snape's dark wand flew out from inside his robes. Sirius leapt up and caught it. James walked toward Snape and picked up the book he was reading. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the title: The Dark Arts: Learning Their Uses and How to Use Them. James tapped the book with his wand, and the book burst into flames and suddenly disappeared. At this Snape leapt up and started muttering curses James recognized as the unforgivable curses. James grew red hot in anger and shot out red sparks from his wand, hitting Snape square in the chest.  
The Marauders were forced to break down the door because apparently passerbys couldn't hear the loud banging of them from the other side. As soon as they got out, Sirius looked at his watch and groaned- they'd missed dinner. Remus, Peter, and Sirius flew down the stairs towards the kitchen, while James decided to skip dinner, and he retired to his private common room.  
He started to jot down some of his Care of Magical Creatures homework. It was difficult; the assignment asked for the uses of five different creatures. He was also unable to concentrate- where was Lily? He wished desperately for her to just come back to the common room, just so he could see her...  
After what seemed like hours, the door to the tiny hallway flung open to reveal Lily. "Hello, Potter," she said, with a tired expression on her face. She sat down on one of the couches near the fire and took out some parchment and a quill and began to do homework. After about ten minutes, of silence, James distinctly heard an unusual sniffle. He looked up and saw, from the firelight emitting from the dancing flames, a single tear reflecting off of her pale skin. James pretended not to notice and returned to his work, finding it even harder to concentrate. After a few more moments, the sniffling became more pronounced, however. James tried not to notice, but soon the sniffles broke out into earsplitting sobs, and James had to take heed.  
"What's wrong, Lily?" he said gently, trying to caress her with his gentle voice.  
"Nothing," she said, sobbing even louder. James decided to make a daring move- a move that he was sure he would be slapped for, but under the circumstances... He strode over and took a seat beside her, and patted her back gently.  
"Lily, it's okay... what happened?" There was no answer, and James assumed she didn't want to answer- her head was in her hands, and James couldn't see her face. But after what seemed like ages, Lily looked up at James with tear stained cheeks. James noted that, even with a red flush and wet eyes, she was still beautiful.  
"They all spent the entire summer together," she said, in between sniffles, not dropping James's gaze. "All of them... but I wasn't invited. Oh, James..." she said, throwing her arms around James's neck and sobbing into his shoulder. "Nobody likes me! No one!"  
James, who was slightly startled at the thought of the object of his affections that seemed to hate him with the deepest loathing was now clutching his neck literally using him for support, begged to differ. "That's not true," he said softly. "I like you." She took her head off his shoulder and looked back up at him, still hugging him. "Much more than any of those other Gryffindor girls..." he continued. "None of them are as gorgeous, smart, and thoughtful as you are." He felt like this was something a father might say in one of those moments when his daughter was feeling extremely insecure. However, what Lily did next made his paternal feelings completely drain.

* * *

> True, she was feeling like crap... after all, it was a rude awakening to find out your only friends had all frequently visited each other and decided to exclude you. Lily really did consider these girls her only friends... and if they didn't like her, no one really did. Except, as James had just reminded her, he liked her...  
Lily was not aware of beginning to kiss James. She simply looked up into those gorgeous dark eyes and planted her lips on his. She new he was startled; she supposed she would be too. But a windswept confidence suddenly took over her, and as she deepened the kiss, she felt James beginning to kiss back. James was very gentle, she could tell, but Lily didn't care about being gentle. She threw in a fiery intension that danced around James's mouth, especially when she began to throw in her tongue. At this James began to pull away. Desperate for attention, she tightened her arms around his neck, but he broke through her grip easily, and stood up breathless. Lily looked up, feeling slightly angry, but her heart sank as she stared up at James, who was looking slightly hurt.  
"Lily..." he started searching for words. "Why do you do this to me? I know you'll get up tomorrow, still hating me, and trying to forget all about... well, all about this." He turned and left to his room, shutting the door tightly behind him.  
Lily felt her eyes gain heat, and began to feel torrid tears sweep down her cheeks. Now James didn't even like her...

* * *

**   
A/N: Well, I hope you like it so far. Sorry this chapter was a bit short... Please review! More on the way! Oh, and just a little side note: Lily's friend Alice (who is dating Frank) is Neville's mother. You'll be seeing much more of her soon.** **One last thing: I'm writing another fic, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Army. It's a novel length fic about Harry's sixth year, with some Ron/Hermione and an on/off relationship with Harry and Cho, then Harry finding someone else... there's also a lot of Voldemort things in there too. Please check it out! It's listed under Harry/Voldemort, so not many people have read it. **


End file.
